500,000 pack Dublin for St Patrick's Day parade

A St. Patrick's Day Parade is held in Arbat Street in downtown Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

March 17, 2012 12:23:48 PM PDT

SHAWN POGATCHNIK Associated Press

DUBLIN - March 17, 2012 --

An estimated 500,000 people crowded Saturday into central Dublin for the St. Patrick's Day parade, a focal point for Irish celebrations worldwide and the start of the tourist season in debt-battered Ireland.